1 Right In The Face!

In the vast and boundless cosmos where an infinite number of stars and planets were present, a single little planet was lonelily drifting around a huge sun that was in the middle of an unknown star system.

The planet itself was small, almost half the size of Earth's, yet its outer appearance was ten times as alluring as that.

Its surface was completely blue, akin to an oversized piece of azure gem thanks to the huge amount of blue crystals piercing out from its surface, high above the skies!

Each crystal seemed to be taller and wider than any known building and brighter than any well-polished jewel on Earth!

As for what kind of crystals they were or what purpose they held, it was unknown; or at least it was for those that mined these crystals on that planet...

"Move your fucking asses faster or I'm gonna slaughter all of you!"

A huge and muscular creature with a pair of huge wings on its back was swinging a large sword behind a group of people, forcing them to walk toward a dark cave filled with blue crystals.

The people differed in age and gender from young to old and men to women. All wore ragged black clothes akin to robes which were in complete contrast to their complexions that seemed paler than a sheet of paper!

Each was walking like an undead, wavering here and there in a slow manner, their eyes hollow without any sign of hope. The only thing that seemed bright was the futuristic-looking item in their hands, similar to that of a mining pickaxe.

Only a young man in the very middle seemed to look better than the rest as his face was still round, his sky blue eyes yet to lose their firmness and hope. His straight posture held great confidence whilst his dark black hair that was still short fluttered in the gentle breeze in the air.

His name was Nash, a 19 years old who was transported from Planet Zero onto this one as he was forced to mine minerals on various globes since tha age of 9!

About a thousand years ago, humans accidentally discovered a mysterious gate about a thousand miles below Earth's surface.

The finding shocked everyone around the world but beliefs of its origin differed for all.

People first believed it was just an archaic door that was somehow buried deep into the ground through the passage of time, but once its doors had been opened, everything changed.

The Ancient Path was no simple gate as it not only was a path into another dimension where other races already coexisted, but it also granted humanity a power, known as the Legacy!

However, even before they could have had the chance to figure out how they should use it, chaos emerged.

Earth's surface was flooded with creatures and beasts from the other side of The Ancient Path, destroying their future once and for all!

They couldn't do anything about it as all the creatures wielded inhuman powers that mortal technology couldn't even hope to rival, not even in the slightest!

Before their strength continents split, oceans dried out while all humans, let it be young or old, rich or poor, men or women, every single one of them was enslaved and brought away in less than a day!

Ever since that day, humans were forced to follow orders that seemed crueler than torture and worse than death itself, but unfortunately, humans couldn't do anything about it.

Anyone that tried to struggle or showed any sign of rebellion was killed on the spot without mercy!

And because their Legacy was sealed away, they were just mere ants before towering elephants, waiting to be smashed into pieces at any given moment!

"Hey! Human! Come here!"

As Nash thought back just how his fate as a human became the worst, a roar howled from behind him, causing him to turn around and watch as the creature stared right at him with a piercing glare.

Obviously, it talked to him thus Nash halted his movements and waited patiently, his eyes still holding their firmness.

The creature seeing this became a level angrier and slammed his blade powerfully into the ground, causing all the humans around Nash to flinch abruptly.

"I. Said. Come. Here!" hissed the creature through its clenched teeth, seemingly angrily, indicating Nash to do what he was told or he will die.

'...'

Approaching the creature with steady steps, Nash stepped before the creature and stared up at it in silence.

He was 6'4, about 194cm tall, yet before this creature who seemed to be above 3 meters, he was nothing but small. He even could be considered as tiny!

The creature had raven black skin with a pair of blood-red wings on its back. Its facial and physical features were similar to that of orcs, but with the sole exception that they seemed way more robust!

Through his years on several planets, Nash learned that these types of creatures such as this one before him were from a race called Sky Beasts, one of the many races that existed on the other side of The Ancient Path.

They had exceptional physical strength and their Legacy let them fly in the sky as though they were birds!

They were hazardous assailants in close combat and great predators in the skies!

The creature stared down at Nash in silence and after murmuring unknown words he spit on his face and sneered, "Kneel."

'...' without wiping off the saliva from his face, Nash glanced at the creature for one last time before beginning to lower his body to kneel.

He understood way too clearly that if he didn't follow this order he will die no matter what. That is why, even if he had to swallow his pride right now, he must do whatever he was told.

When the creature noticed as Nash decided to kneel before him instead of talking or throwing a tantrum like many others would have, a kind of irritation flashed in its eyes, causing the creature to kick Nash powerfully in the face.

"Piece of shit... Go back and begin to mine before I cut your ugly head off its place!"

Wiping the mixture of saliva and blood from his face, Nash stood up and went back to where he originally was, and continued to walk forward.

Once they reached the cave, the Sky Beast began to roar that sounded as loud as thunder, "You will mine this area in the following 4 years every single day! Food and rest will be given once you complete your daily dose, but if not, don't even dream about seeing daylight ever again!"

After he said that, the Sky Beast sat down comfortably onto a huge piece of crystal on the side and began to sleep.

Nash however wasn't a fool to be tricked by such a simple facade as he had already seen this type of trick a thousand times. It was a great act to trick those that thought escape was still a possible feat, but unfortunately, it couldn't fool him.

Instead, he put his pickaxe onto his shoulder and walked deep into the cave as he knew that the deeper he went, the more efficiently he will be able to mine crystals.

"Perfect spot," exclaimed Nash with a nod as he glanced at the numerous small azure crystals on the walls, each with the size of a human fist.

"Mine all this here and go to the next spot," said Nash and swung his tool.

Clang!

With a metallic sound, the first crystal broke off relative easily before vanishing into a black vortex that appeared around the tip of his pickaxe.

It was a kind of separate space that Nash summoned once he pressed a button on the tool, avoiding him from carrying the mined crystals directly on his body.

"At least they helped us with only this much..." sighed Nash and proceeded on mining, filling the whole cave with sharp metallic sound the very next second.

-

Hours have passed slowly, and about 14 hours of straight mining later, Nash finally stopped and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Done..." said Nash, ready to leave and hand in the crystals, when suddenly his steps halted while his brows tightened gently.

Glancing around here and there seemingly confused, Nash turned around but seemed to notice nothing out of the ordinary, except for a sole thing...

"It's silent." thought Nash as he discovered that his surroundings were quieter than it should have been.

Crack!

"?"

But just as he was about to ignore and proceed on leaving, suddenly white cracks began to form in the air, forming a wide and huge hole akin to a portal inches away from his face!

"What the hell is th-" began to ask Nash, but his sentence was abruptly cut by an object piercing him right in the forehead!

Even before Nash could have responded, an intense pain flooded his mind, causing his body to collapse onto the ground in a flash before a strange sound appeared inside his head!

[Analyzing Body Str...]

[Failed! Legacy has been sealed!]

[Initiating unsealing!]

"ARGH!!!" with a loud cry Nash felt as though his body was pierced with hundreds of swords, causing his body to shiver like crazy!

[Legacy has been successfully unsealed!]

[Analyzing Body Structure!]

In a flash, the pain inside his body vanished and what replaced that feeling was an immense amount of blaze, making him feel as though his bones, flesh, and skin were set on fire before being thrown into boiling lava!

[Analysis successful!]

[Body Structure reached requirements!]

[Physical Status reached requirements!]

[Legacy reached requirements!]

Immediately after that, Nash felt that the unbearable warmth inside his body began to lessen, causing his body to start relaxing.

However, just as he thought everything was finally coming to an end, the voice sounded inside his head once again.

[Initiating engraving!]

"Wait... What? No, do-, AARRRRGGHH!" screaming up once again as pain, several times sharper than the previous two pierced into his brain, his vision turned dizzy and slightly blank in a blink!

The pain was so great that any human would have fallen unconscious, yet, for some reason, Nash was incapable of that. It was as though some strange power made him stay awake, not letting him fall asleep!

And just as the pain began to turn unbearable, almost to the point where Nash wished to die, the voice appeared again, but this time with a much majestic tone.

[Engraving successful!]

[Congratulations! You have successfully learned 'Domination Art: Strings Of Domination'!]

* * * * *

A/N: Check out my new novel Lord of the Karmic Fate!